Tension has gripped the streets of Minneapolis following a fatal shooting on Saturday involving federal agents and a local man. The incident has sparked immediate protests and resulted in two completely different stories about what happened—one from the government and one from the grieving family.
Late Saturday, the parents of 37-year-old Alex Pretti spoke out just hours after their son was shot and killed by Border Patrol agents. Michael and Susan Pretti described their son, who worked as an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA hospital, as a “good man” and a “kindhearted soul.”
In a statement, the family expressed heartbreak and intense anger. They rejected the official account of the shooting, insisting their son was a hero who died trying to help someone else.
According to the Pretti family, Alex was not holding a weapon. They claim he was holding his phone in his right hand and that his left hand was raised in the air.
READ: U.S. AG Pam Bondi Blames ‘Sanctuary’ Policies For Minnesota Violence After Shooting
They say he was trying to protect a woman who had just been pushed down by agents while being pepper-sprayed. The parents lashed out at the authorities, calling the agents “[President Donald] Trump’s murdering and cowardly ICE thugs.” They also accused the administration of telling “sickening lies” about their son.
However, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) tells a much different story. On Saturday afternoon, the agency posted a photo on X showing a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun. They claim Pretti was carrying this gun, along with two magazines of ammunition, and had no identification on him.
Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for DHS, said it looked like an individual who wanted to “massacre law enforcement.”
The official DHS statement explains that an agent fired “defensive shots” because he feared for his life and the safety of his fellow officers. They noted that medics tried to help Pretti immediately after he was shot, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Legal Defense Fund (LDF) backed up the family’s version of events in a press release.
They pointed out that Pretti had a legal license to carry a gun and that Minnesota allows open and concealed carry. The LDF stated that available video evidence does not show Pretti pointing a gun at agents or threatening them before shots were fired. Like the parents, the LDF says Pretti was just trying to assist a woman who had been pushed.
READ: Walz Activates Minnesota National Guard After Federal Agent Kills Armed ICU Nurse Alex Pretti
The conflicting stories have led to chaos in the city. Reporter Jorge Ventura described riots and protests breaking out in Minneapolis in the hours after the death.
This shooting comes only 17 days after another controversial incident where an ICE agent shot Renee Good, a woman the DHS claimed had used her vehicle as a weapon in an act of “domestic terrorism.”
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